A Change of Scene...

Instead of my usual wander around the Golf Course and Saxon Mill fields, this weekend I thought I would change direction and head for the racecourse instead.  The Saxon Mill is less than two miles from the Racecourse, yet it's amazing how the variety of birds can change in such a short distance. 

 I approached the small reservoir at the back of the circuit just as it was getting light and immediately added little grebe to both my own green year and the Warwick 100 lists.  Known affectionately as 'The Toxic Pool' by the 100 team, for its historic lack of wildlife, it has been well managed in recent years and has started to look a more likely spot for duck, warblers and maybe even the odd wader or two during passage.

A quick peek in the fields to the back of the course didn't produce the partridge I was hoping for, so it was on to the centre, as the morning started to brighten and the birds began to appear - kestrel, buzzard, and great spotted woodpecker the highlights along with the usual residents.

The centre of Warwick Racecourse is definitely worth a visit, armed with a pair of binoculars.  Part of it has a small golf course and driving range, where little owl and redstart have been recorded in past years.  The Caravan Club has a small section and there are football pitches where wheatear have been known to stop while passing through in Spring.  The rest is grassland - an important habitat for breeding skylark and meadow pipits, both of which were new to my green list today.  Work is constant to protect these areas from the threat of development, model aeroplanes and dogs, but it was encouraging to see fencing in place during the breeding season and the numbers of successful pairs rose last year.   

There is an area of wetland at the far end of the grass; home to reed buntings (another year tick for me), water rail, the occasional visiting stonechat and whinchat and the most amazing evening roost of snipe in Winter.  Sometimes up to 30 snipe will come out of the roost at dusk, with jack snipe also spotted last year.

Lastly, part of the wasteland has been turned over to a wildflower meadow, with finch flocks appearing since planting.  A chance to spot goldfinches, linnets and chaffinch and to dream of a brambling amongst them!  Today, though, a brambling wasn't to be.  

A single snipe flew up from the wetland as I left for the walk home, taking the Warwick 100 list to 66 so far and me very happy, having enjoyed the change of scene.

Lizzy

Patch birding as a team

The Warwick 100 is edging upwards, now standing on a mighty 59 birds for the year.  

My own green list is not doing so well, with some gaping holes where birds should be...I am still waiting to bag a great spotted woodpecker (welcome to Midlands birding!)

I thought I had one on my way to work yesterday.  Heard it, ticked it and thought I'd look up to see if I could spot it.  And there it was...a magpie making the EXACT noise of a chacking GSW!  Unticked immediately, I will keep looking for my elusive feathered friend.

It did get me thinking how easy it is to mistake one bird for another. Wood pigeons seem able to morph into any birds they choose, depending on light and angle!  Not really an Earth-shattering issue if keeping your own list, not to be published further than a personal Twitter account.  But, when birding as a group, and publishing our findings like this, it becomes a little more important to get it right.

So, to our Warwick 100 guidelines...

Team members only submit a sighting if they are absolutely 100% on the ID (no mistaken magpies for woodpeckers!)  and, if a rarity turns up (we dream of another hoopoe), we will try to get a record shot of it, or get another team member onto it to corroborate the sighting as soon as possible. 

Saying that, a team of friends like this one has to be largely based on trust.  We are not trying to be more than we are - we are just a little group of amateur enthusiasts, looking to hit a birding target in our home town, choosing to bird as a group simply for fun, enjoyment and a sense of togetherness in our hobby.  

Lizzy

Grey wagtail, taken in Chris' garden

Halfway there...

It's only the third day of the year and we have stormed through the 50 mark already!

Rick was lucky to have a garden visit this morning by his local sparrow hawk, our 50th bird, having seen a cracking trio of whooper swans in flight yesterday.  Other highlights include a common gull, seen by Alec at Kingfisher Pools and a busy treecreeper spotted by Lizzy at the Saxon Mill.

List standing at 54.  

This birding lark is easy, half way there...although something tells me the second half may be a little more challenging!

Treecreeper

A good start!

 So out came the Warwick 100 team for their first day of 2022 birding.  

A team effort around the town and surrounding fields produced lots of the regulars, but also we managed to spot a couple of species that have proven tricky in previous years:

• A flock of 20 siskin at the Saxon Mill, along with a super sunbathing cormorant.
• A pair of water rails and a kingfisher (obviously!) at Kingfisher Pools.
• Meadow pipit, skylark and kestrel were the star birds at the Racecourse.

Some of the team's gardens came up trumps also, with grey wagtail, raven and peregrine spotted.

A positive start putting the team on 46 species for our first day - not too shabby!

Cormorant

Siskin